


The Wardens No One Talks About

by EggrollErrol



Category: Dragon Age (Tabletop RPG), Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Angst, Dogs, F/F, F/M, Humor, M/M, Violence, dragon age tabletop rpg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 03:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11935044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EggrollErrol/pseuds/EggrollErrol
Summary: Basically this is Dragon Age: Origins but played through by my friends (their tumblr blogs are listed in the end notes please check them out, my friends have been a huge help in doing this) and I with the Dragon Age Tabletop RPG game. The Wardens are all our own characters, everyone else is the same more or less. Chapters will be posted regularly in spirit, but physically whenever we get sessions done and i write them up as chapters.Anyway I hope whoever reads this enjoys it.





	1. Kanstins

It felt like they had been walking forever, the ground pressed harder against the soles of Kanstins’ feet the further they walked. Her eyes scanned the group of conscripts she travelled with; two humans, 2 dwarves, and herself. The human seemed to be a mage, if the stave strapped to her back wasn’t just a decorative stick. The two dwarves stood close together, solidarity in their shared race, both wearing equally worn clothes. The male carried a crossbow attached to his back and a dagger on his thigh, the female had two large daggers strapped next to each other on her back. An open threat to all who would wish her harm. She looked capable of damage, Kanstins thought, looking over her muscled arms and shoulders.

Leading the group was an older bearded man named Duncan, he had been travelling around Thedas conscripting individuals he saw fit enough to serve in the Wardens. He rode upfront on a bay horse, fully dressed in impressive Warden Commander armour, originally he rode behind the group, a small quip from the male dwarf made him change his position. Kanstins remembered the small man laughing, “Oh yeah? Follow me I’m right behind ya type of thing?” The memory pulled an amused smile onto Kanstins’ lips which she quickly hid. 

The group hiked in quiet for a little while longer, the atmosphere was one of unease, causing Kanstins to become more aware of her surroundings. Eyeing everyone up, watching each of their movements closely. Time passed slowly, the sun dropped below the horizon and before the moon reached its apex, a grand fortress rose in the distance. 

“Welcome to Ostagar, conscripts” Duncan announced from the front of the group. 

As the group neared, Ostagar grew taller and taller, as if reaching to pierce the darkened sky itself. Kanstins stood in stunned silence as everyone stopped at the huge fort gates, muffled shouting could be heard from behind as people hurried to open it.

“You’d think they’d have it open ready for us”, Kanstins turned to see the lady dwarf had moved to her side, “probably saw us coming a mile off. First conscripted, now we have to wait to be let in. Dreadful service” 

“We’ll have to write a strongly worded letter to the head of the establishment”, Kanstins replied, a smile playing on her lips. This caused the dwarf to giggle into her hand, making her daggers clink together. Once the giggling had finally ceased the dwarf held out her hand to Kanstins.

“Name’s Talza.” 

“Kanstins is mine”, Kanstins replied, taking a firm grasp of Talza’s hand. They were rough and strong, hands of a labourer. “Who’s he?” she asked, nodding towards the other dwarf, he was too preoccupied with his dagger to notice them, he twirled it around his fingers, occasionally switching hands.

Talza turned her head to look at him, “Oh he’s Sann, he seems alright. Straight outta Orzammar though, think the surface has overwhelmed him a bit", she turns back to Kanstins. “No idea who the human is though, she looks fancy for a circle mage.”

“Before you got conscripted, I heard her talking to the warden up front”, Kanstins explained, “said her name was Aralie but that’s all i heard.”

Before Talza could respond, the gates to Ostagar began to open slowly. It seemed like it was taking years to lift. Once the gate had been lifted, two figures on horseback rode out the short distance to them. As they got closer, Kanstins could see another man in Warden uniform riding at the front and a golden haired younger man riding slightly behind. 

The riders halted a few feet from the group, dismounted, then closed the distance between them and the group on foot. Kanstins caught the eye of the golden haired man, he winked at her and grinned, she moved her eyes to the other Warden, he was young and probably has never seen battle. Duncan had dismounted now and was addressing him.

“Take word back to the barracks that we’ll be needing 4 extra beds set up. Dismissed” and with that final word the unnamed Warden mounted again and rode back inside the gates leaving the man he rode out with behind. Duncan turned to face to them, “Your Grace, we didn’t expect a personal welcome, but it’s appreciated.”

“Drop the formalities Duncan” the man chuckled, “now, are you going to introduce me to your new friends?”. He looked over Duncan’s shoulder at them, catching Kanstins’ eye again as he scanned their faces. 

“Of course”, Duncan replied whilst moving so he stood shoulder to shoulder with the man and looking over the group, “I would like to introduce to you King Cailan, King of Ferelden. Your Grace, I would like to introduce you to my new conscripts, the rogues are Sann and Talza, then Aralie a circle mage and last but not least Kanstins a warrior. They’re a well rounded group, should make a great addition to the fight against the blight.”

“Yes, I agree” Cailan replied, “it’s an honour to meet the future protectors of Thedas. May the maker smile on you in these trying times” A somber silence then fell on the group as the weight of the situation finally took hold. The blight was slowly tearing the world apart and the Wardens were the only ones trained to stop it. 

It was Duncan who broke the silence, “Now let’s get you all inside, fed and rested. The real work starts at sun rise.”


	2. Talza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically this is just everything beginning and the conscripts are travelling around Ostagar seeing whats what.

Shortly after eating, Duncan ordered the group to rest as “the morning would bring new challenges only fit for a well-rested recruit”, no one needed to be told twice.

Sann was nothing more than a breathing lump half down his bedroll by the time Talza had laid down. Kanstins had split from the group and set up with her back against the brick wall and her bedroll pulled up to her waist, she looked ready to go at a moment’s notice with her spear laid close by. Nearest the fire lay Aralie, all her limbs tucked in making herself the smallest she could be, Talza lay next to her looking over everyone’s sleeping forms and mused herself by thinking about the days to come until sleep finally came to her.

It was Talza who woke first. She woke to the sounds of clanking armour, hushed mumbles from waking Wardens accompanied by the smell of stew. It almost felt like home, all that was missing was the heat of a forge. She sat up in her bedroll causing the hay underneath her to crunch and stab into her uncomfortably. With a heavy sigh, she sleepily clambered to her feet and looked around. Everyone was still asleep, embers burned softly in the fireplace and from outside came sounds of the fort coming to life. Talza stretched and yawned then looked down at her feet. Aralie was still dozing gently in her bedroll, her face relaxed and hair still completely in place. Even sleeping she looked perfect, ‘must be magic’ Talza concluded as she nudged the mage with her foot. 

Talza saw Aralie’s brow furrow as her eyes flickered open and focused on her. “Morning sleepy mage, figured you’d want a morning wake up”

“It is most appreciated”, Aralie smiled sleepily “is there anyone else awake?” she shuffled into an upright position leaning back on her elbows, head tilted up at Talza. 

“Nope, not yet”, Talza smiled “was just about to get Sann up, I would go for Kanstins but she looks the type to burst up and hold a knife to my throat if I woke her, so I’ll get Sann to do that”

It took several nudges and a gentle kick to the side for Sann to wake up and crawl out of his bedroll. He stood nearly the same height has Talza, just an inch shorter she thought smugly.

“So...” Sann started sleepily, “what are our orders?”

“We don’t have any yet”

Sann looked at Talza slightly confused. “Then why are we awake? Are we doing a runner? Because I am not a very fast runner but what I lack in running I make up for in sneakiness. In fact, I already have a master escape plan...” There was something in Sann’s eyes that didn’t make Talza doubt him for a second, and as much as she wanted to hear Sann’s master escape plan she had to stop him.

“Just figured you’d want a wake up, being as it’s our first day”

“Ah yes…okay. Makes sense. Thanks.” Sann nodded and smiled over Talza’s shoulder, “Morning Aralie!”

“Good morning Sann”, Aralie piped up from behind Talza. 

“Oh, and Sann, would you mind waking Kanstins? I would but I’d like to tie my hair up before getting officially woken up”, before Sann could answer Talza had retreated back to Aralie and kneeled next to the mage as they watched Sann approach Kanstins. “What if she actually kills him?”, Talza whispered to Aralie as Sann reached out and gently shook Kanstins’ shoulder.

“Then Duncan will need to find another recruit”, Talza could hear the mischievousness in her voice even at a whisper.

Both Aralie and Talza let out a sigh of disappointment as Kanstins’ eyes opened and she looked up at Sann. “Well at least Sann didn’t get hurt” Talza said quietly.

For the next half hour, everyone quietly got dressed and prepared for the day. Talza wrestled with her stubborn curly hair, trying desperately to tame it into smooth braids. It wasn’t until Aralie appeared behind her and managed to brush it down then neatly plait it, making sure none of it was in her face.

“You didn’t have to…” 

“The younger apprentices, mainly girls, always struggled with finding things to tie their hair up with. Hair in your eyes can be a death sentence, any distraction your last.” Aralie was focused on the empty fire pit then stood up again, smiled down at Talza and left to finish getting kitted up for the day leaving Talza next to the empty fire pit. Talza looked over her shoulder at the group, we’ll probably be split up after officially being recruited whenever that is she thought. She felt herself sadden, they hadn’t known each other long but she felt somewhat connected to everyone, starting this crazy journey together. 

The door to the small building they were in suddenly opened, flooding the dimly lit room with early morning sunlight. Duncan stepped into the room and looked around the group, with a look of mild surprise on his face. “I didn’t expect you all to be dressed and ready, you must be eager. Well first things first, breakfast!” He turned back towards the door and shouted, “Recruit Wittle, bring the stew!”. Within a few moments a tired looking boy came into the room, carrying a big pot of steaming stew, 4 bowls with spoons and a loaf of bread tucked under his arm which looked slightly squashed. After Wittle placed everything on the floor the group tucked in, Talza noticed him hesitate at the door and sadly look over everyone before leaving.

Talza had tasted better stews but after the long day yesterday it tasted amazing and filled her stomach. She had to stop herself from licking the bowl clean, however when she looked over at Sann she saw that he didn’t share the same restraint. 

“Right conscripts, time for you to get to work”, Duncan clapped his hands together and looked around at them all, “today is your first day of your new lives as Wardens. Together you will work as a team, climb the ranks and protect Thedas. But before that…you must complete the recruitment challenge, not all get passed this point.”. For a second, a look of complete sadness washed over Duncan’s face, “However Maker willing, you will all join us on our journey to victory over the Blight” He smiled wide causing crow’s feet to appear in the corners of his eyes almost distracting Talza from the tears that also resided there, “if you’ll all follow me to the yard, we can begin.”

Once they were all lined up in the yard, Duncan stood in front of them and looked them all over. “You’ll be going into the Korcari Wilds, the entrance to the wilds is located towards the far end of the fort. In the Wilds, you’ll be retrieving a vial of darkspawn blood each. Return to me and you will be recruited officially”

As Talza looked around the rest of the group seemed uncertain, Sann was fiddling with a crossbow bolt whilst Aralie was tugging on the hem of her sleeves, pulling out loose threads and letting them fall to the floor, it was obvious she hadn’t much experience out of the Circle. Kanstins was the only one who seemed at least a little confident, looking her up and down Talza could see she was built to fight, extremely capable of doing an awful lot of damage if the huge spear on her back was an accurate indicator.

“Take time to prepare but not too long, time is a valuable commodity. Oh also, I forgot to mention earlier, there’s two more recruits somewhere around Ostagar as well as another warden named Alistair who I’ve ordered to aid you in this task. They’ve already been briefed just find them and tell them I sent you. I advise you to visit the Quartermaster in the training field as well, never know what you’ll need.” Duncan said before leaving to attend other business around the Ostagar.

“Right”, Aralie started, “where to first?”. She looked uncertain about what Duncan had just said, Talza felt sorry for her. Spent her whole life in the circle then conscripted, not once been truly free. 

“We could go to the Quartermaster first,” Kanstins offered, “we have our weapons and the clothes on our back, not much else. Can’t hurt to look.”

Aralie looked relieved and smiled over at Kanstins. “Did anyone hear Duncan say where the training field is? I didn’t…maybe we should just walk in a direction and see if we can find it on accident before asking someone.”

Sann piped up from where he was standing next to Talza, “He didn’t even tell us where to find those other people.” He looked exasperated with everything that was happening, Talza didn’t blame him she doubted he’d been on the surface very long by the looks of things. Was it out of desperation or was he just picked up by Duncan one day? Everyone in the group intrigued her, hopefully I’ll get to know them better as the days go by she thought hopefully. It’d be shitty if they had to fight darkspawn and none of them even enjoyed the company there were in.

“So…” Talza started, “which way are we going to set off in?”. She looked around her, to the north was a long bridge type thing leading to the rest of Ostagar, south was the entrance gates and to the left and right were either walls or small buildings slowly transforming into ruins. 

“From lack of better options straight across that bridge seems wise”, Kanstins chipped in. Setting off ahead of the group before anyone could say anything. 

The bridge stretched out across a deep ravine, ‘why anyone would build the other half of a fort across a ravine’ was a mystery to Talza. When she told this to Sann he chuckled before saying, “Curly, why anyone would live above ground is a mystery to me”.

As they got closer to the other side sounds of swords clanging together and raised voices could be heard, everyone was busy preparing for the war ahead, no one knew when it would be over but everyone hoped it’d be soon. The end of the bridge opened into a large courtyard where wardens trained at one side, and at the other side clusters of tents were pitched surrounding a large one in the middle. Presumably King Cailan’s, Talza concluded.

At the far end a bonfire was burning, Talza could just barely make out that it Duncan was standing next to it, talking to a group of important looking people. To the right of the fire was another a set of dog kennels, Talza heard Aralie perk up. “Oh! We just have to go and visit those good puppies! I bet they’re the cutest little things ever.” 

She looked so excited. Her hands clasped together, smiling wide whilst looking over at the kennels. it would’ve been like kicking a puppy if they said no to her. They all agreed after going to the Quartermaster to see the puppies after and carried on walking. Something told Talza that they’d be more along the lines of war hounds than puppies but she didn’t say anything. Everyone needed a morale boost and puppies seemed the best, even she was slowly getting excited at the prospect. 

They had been wandering around for awhile looking for anyone who looked vaguely like a Quartermaster, they had tried stopping people to ask but the best answer they got was a vague shrug and a gesture towards the other side of the yard. 

“We should’ve asked for a description of this guy, walking every which way and no site of anything Quartermastery”, Sann grumbled, playing with his beard rings which hung at the ends of his beard plaits. Talza loved the way they jangled musically as he walked, she was jealous she couldn’t grow a beard for the sole purpose of beard jewellery; they just didn’t look the same in her curly hair. 

“What’re you looking at Curly?”, she snapped out of her daydream to see Sann looking at her quizzically, “ah I get it, distracted by my dazzling jewels! I don’t blame you to be fair, they are beautiful and accentuate my glorious beard.” Sann puffed his chest out and shimmied, jangling the rings further as he walked. Talza could feel the laughter bubble out of her chest and into the air, it didn’t take long for everyone else to start laughing too. She hadn’t laughed like this for so long, she was even surprised to see tears leak from Kanstins’ eyes in amusement. 

“Right”, Kanstins announced suddenly but still trying to suppress a giggle, “I think I can see someone who looks vaguely Quartermaster over there.” Once again, she went striding off with everyone in tow in the direction of this possible Quartermaster. They ended up walking past the dog kennels but not close enough to see, still Aralie was excited and kept making cooing sounds in their general direction.

It didn’t take long to get over to them now they knew where they were headed. The man Kanstins had directed them too did, in fact, look like a Quartermaster. He stood in front of sacks full of fruit and vegetables, crates filled with weapons and shields with a couple filled with various bottles of potions. The clipboard he was holding held a thick stack of papers which he occasionally flicked through whilst standing around waiting for someone to approach him. 

“Think he’s the guy?”, Sann whispered, “he looks quite grumpy”

“And old.”, added Aralie.

“If he isn’t we can steal his stuff, I will do my shimmy then Talza can swoop in behind a swipe shit for us!”

Kanstins sighed, “Before we turn to crime, we talk to him first. Aralie maybe you should talk to him. Considering you’re both human. Common ground and all.” She nudged Aralie closer from the small of her back. 

“Hello sir.”, Aralie greeted him politely using a more serious voice than usual, “we’d like to look at your wares. If that’s okay of course?”. The man looked her up and down, leering at her slightly.

“Yes sweetie, feel free to peruse at your pleasure, however your…companions will have to keep their hands where I can see them.” He looked Talza, Sann and Kanstins up and down with distaste. A feeling of unease built up in Talza’s stomach when his eyes scanned over her. “As a policy I don’t trust dwarves,” he was talking to Aralie again, “the vast majority of them are thieves and swindlers, and elves are no better than savages that have crawled out of the mud in the forest”

Talza turned to Kanstins, her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles were white and she could her grinding her teeth together as the man talked so freely to Aralie. Talza saw Aralie’s face, the colour had gone from her face and she was frozen to the spot, looking between the Quartermaster and the rest of the group. Before anyone could say anything, Sann dashed forward fist first, striking him straight in the crotch. The racist Quartermaster doubled over clutching his dick with Sann still standing over him, fist remaining clenched and out in front of him. Talza looked around wildly making sure no angry guards were marching towards them before dragging Sann away with the help of Kanstins in the direction of a small cluster of with a couple of cages, a good distance away from the racist Quartermaster.

She could hear Sann giggling maniacally as she dragged him by the shoulder, Talza felt weirdly proud of him. Kanstins was walking next to them praising Sann for the expert punch. Aralie trailed behind looking shell shocked but when she caught Talza looking at her she smiled and gave the thumbs up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, thank you for reading my writing, I really appreciate you all reading it. Again i couldn't do this without my great group of friends. Please follow them on tumblr.
> 
> crunchmaster-supreme  
> iscaredeath  
> wearintheirin  
> anactualgoblin

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a comment or a like. I love hearing feedback.
> 
> Also please check out these tumblr blogs I couldn't write this fanfic without these guys, they're the people I play the Tabletop game with; wearintheirin  
> anactualgoblin  
> iscaredeath  
> this-is-479er


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